alpha city

English

Noun

alpha city (plural alpha cities)

1. A city that links a major economic state or region into the world economy.

   Coordinate terms: beta city, gamma city

   • 2016, Alec Ross, The Industries of the Future:

     Exporting advanced services across the globe, they represent mini-economies in themselves. I am much more likely to run into an American who is a leading global innovator in an alpha city like Shanghai or Dubai than I am to see her or him in St. Louis, Missouri, or Manchester, England.